SCENES FROM EUCLID AVENUE

In the late 1940s and early 50s a young couple filmed their life on Euclid Ave just north of Queen. Despite the difficulties of starting out and making ends meet, they recorded their growing children on then relatively expensive 8mm film. These films capture the comings and goings on the block in front of their walkup apartment, and their time at nearby Alexandra park and on main streets like Queen or Dundas. Summers included trips to Camp Naivelt, established to give working class Jews time out of the city. Eventually like many families, they left the inner city for the suburbs.

Drawn from the films of three families in the 1960s, a parallel yet different set of images show life in Winnipeg. A gang of buddies stops off at the local bar on their way to go hunting. The filmmaker of the group also takes his camera to work and captures his co-workers inside a pasta factory. The local Santa Claus parade marches down the snowy streets, and over the holidays a whole family get into the groove of the early 60s Twist craze.